Séamus Egan

Séamus Egan attained his greatest success as a solo artist with his soundtrack for Edward Burns' 1995 film The Brothers McMullen; it spent four months on the world music charts and included the Top Ten hit "I Will Remember You," recorded by Sarah McLachlan. Egan, however, has been an important presence on the Irish music scene for far longer. A four-time winner of the All-Ireland award (on an unprecedented four different instruments), Egan has been a member of a trio also featuring Mick Moloney and Eugene O'Donnell, an all-star congregate of Irish musicians and singers (Green Fields of America), and an Irish trad-folk band (Solas), and he has also been a soloist. In addition, Egan has recorded Irish music with Eileen Ivers, John Doyle, and African percussionist Kimati Dinizulu, and even hip-hop with Vernon Reid of Living Colour.

Egan's earliest exposure to traditional Irish music came when he moved, at the age of three, with his parents and five siblings to Ireland. Settling into the small village of Foxford in County Mayo, he studied under button accordionist Martin Donaghue around the age of six or seven. His musical interests were expanded after watching a television show featuring flutists Matt Molloy and James Galway and listening to a radio program spotlighting banjo player Matt Moloney. Within a short time, Egan was playing well enough to enter and win the All-Ireland competition in flute and whistle. Shortly after returning to the United States with his family, and moving to Philadelphia in 1980, Egan met Moloney, who had immigrated to the Pennsylvania city. Egan quickly fell under Moloney's wing and began taking informal banjo lessons. Two years later, Egan returned to Ireland and won All-Ireland awards in banjo and mandolin.

Egan's involvement with the film The Brothers McMullen was sparked when producer Edward Burns heard him performing during a tour dubbed The Young Turks of the Banjo. Although initially a low-budget project, the film was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, where it received a Grand Jury prize. After being picked up for distribution by 20th Century Fox, the soundtrack was recorded and the film's quality enhanced. Egan's music was subsequently featured in the PBS documentary Out of Ireland.